People are really confused

We’ve embarked on a host of studies about long-term care.  One component of that effort is to assess the public’s understanding of how these costs are financed.  A bunch of surveys over the last 10 years indicate that people are confused; most think that Medicare plays a major role.  In fact, Medicare doesn’t cover any type of long-term care, whether in a nursing home, assisted living community or at home.

Medicare covers medical services – hospital care (Part A), physician care (Part B), and prescription drugs (Part D).  It won’t pay for a stay in a long-term care center or the cost of custodial care, such as assistance with the activities of daily living like bathing, dressing, eating and using the bathroom — if that’s the only care needed.  One potential source of confusion may be that Medicare will pay for short-term stays in a skilled nursing facility within 30 days of 3+ days in a hospital.  However, over half of Medicare-covered skilled nursing facility stays are for 20 days or less, and over 90 percent for 60 days or less.  Medicare also provides hospice care to individuals meeting a minimum level of need threshold.  Since much of the care covered by Medicare is short term and associated with an acute event, no one should expect Medicare to cover their day-to-day long-term-care needs as they age.